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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24651616">The dream that brought us together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs'>baeconandeggs</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryunick/pseuds/Ryunick'>Ryunick</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dreams, Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:21:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24651616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryunick/pseuds/Ryunick</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun was a lucid dreamer. In a world were your only chance to find your soulmate was through dreams, it made him feel that we could be able to find that person that was meant for him. His hopes started to get high when a handsome red-haired man started to appear frequently in his dreams and refused to obey Baekhyun’s commands.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>163</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>BAE2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The dream that brought us together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Prompt:</b> BAE172<br/><span class="small"><b>Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.</b> The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.</span></p><p> </p><p><b>Author's Note:</b> Thank you to the mods of the fest, they had to put up with me big time, and to the friends who encouraged me to write this until the end. It’s not very good, but I hope you like it nevertheless. Thank you for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Baekhyun got in bed as usual.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was nearly midnight, or at least that’s what his clock was showing. He tucked himself in bed comfortably and closed his eyes, waiting for consciousness to just slip away from his fingers as he fell into sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was standing on a patch of grass, the wind was light and pleasant, and the sun was warm against his skin. He felt like flying, so he opened his arms and just went up for the sky. Baekhyun leapt happily around for a while, until something changed. He felt something, or rather </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span>, behind him, following. He turned his head and there they were: black, menacing figures creeping behind him. The feeling of anxiety was increasing, as Baekhyun tried to fly away faster and faster, but whatever was following him was closing on him instead of going away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Baekhyun stopped in mid-air and turned around to look at the black figures that were following him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” he simply said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then it happened. The black figures dissipated as if they were made of air and disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Or at least, that’s what should have happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the black dust was gone, a tall figure emerged. A red-haired and smiling handsome man who flew towards Baekhyun, who was flabbergasted. The feeling of anxiety was gone, but nevertheless, he still didn’t understand why that man hadn’t vanished with the rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you still here?” Baekhyun asked the guy, trying to make him go away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the man was uncontrollable, he was not listening to Baekhyun’s wishes and commands. In a moment, he had closed in on him and had grabbed Baekhyun gently by his hips while still smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you are,” the guy replied with a deep, husky voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy leaned in, closing his eyes and pulling Baekhyun closer to him. It was as if, suddenly, he had forgotten that he wanted the man to go away, and Baekhyun simply let go, closing his eyes as well. He felt the other man’s sweet and hot breath over his lips, and his body tingled in excitement, waiting for their mouths to meet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun opened his eyes just when their lips were about to touch. He was in his bed, there was no one kissing him, and he was a bit hot. He got up and sat on his bed, ruffling his hair and checking the time. He cursed under his breath and jumped out of bed; he was going to be late for work again and he did not want to make up more excuses for his boss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a constant in his life for a while. The weird dreams, he meant.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun was a lucid dreamer. He had been able to control his dreams fully since not so long ago, but he had been aware of his ability since he was young. Baekhyun had mastered the ability to control his dreams, stopping nightmares and anxiety feelings to creep over him at night, and getting his way in the nice dreams. Whatever he wanted, he had it. Or so he thought, until some weeks ago, something unexpected happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That time, he was dreaming about a nice day at the beach with his friends. He remembers it because his boss, Kim Junmyeon, was also there; and even though he was a nice man generally, he was in no way involved with his friends. However, it didn’t bother him, so Baekhyun let him stay in his dream, the man sunbathing next to him while himself was under the protection of the nice shadow of the umbrella. But then, someone who was not any of his friends emerged from the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a tall man, handsome and well-built. Baekhyun remembers looking at the wet body of the man, admiring the way water ran down his well-formed torso and his strong arms. The man looked around, as if he was searching for something, until his eyes landed on Baekhyun. Then, he smiled and started walking towards him, his steps determined, and Baekhyun felt his skin tingle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go away,” he commanded, expecting the man to just go away as it normally happened with anything he wanted to disappear from his dreams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, the man not only did not disappear, but he fell down in front of Baekhyun on his knees, placing his arms on both sides of the man seated under the umbrella. The rest of the people there seemed not to mind whatever could happen to Baekhyun, as if they weren’t aware of the presence of the tall man at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t go away,” the tall man spoke with a deep voice, one Baekhyun liked very much. “Not now that I have found you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was that man looking for him? Could he be what Baekhyun was hoping? But he could not speak any of those words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tall man leaned in, his face becoming alarmingly close, and his sweet scent wrapping around Baekhyun, whose mind went blank and just let go, closing his eyes and waiting for the kiss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment their lips were about to touch, Baekhyun woke up. His heart was racing and he could still feel the warmth and pleasant scent of that man around him. He touched his lips, as if making sure that they hadn’t been kissed, but even though it was obviously impossible, he could still feel the other’s hot breath caressing them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was the first time in a long time that Baekhyun wasn’t able to control an event inside his dreams, and it was also the first of many times the tall man appeared in his dreams. It had been happening for some time already, and Baekhyun was starting to wonder why he was dreaming about this man. Was someone from his past? Some random guy he passed on the street? Or that one thing he desperately wanted to find?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure, but he knew one thing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every time the tall man appeared in his dreams, they locked gazes and the tall man approached him and tried to kiss him. Every time, it was as if Baekhyun was unable to do anything except to let the taller do whatever he wanted to, closing his eyes and just waiting for the kiss. But also, the very same moment their lips were about to touch, he woke up. Every single time, he was devoid of the taste of those full and plump lips that tempted him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Baekhyun wondered if he could be his soulmate. Soulmates were not an uncommon thing, but not very common either. Two people could be connected to each other because their souls were a perfect match, but it was also possible that you and your soulmate didn’t manage to exist at the same time, so you had to wait for you next chance in another live. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But if you did, if you needed to connect with them in dreams before meeting them in real life. You could walk past them and you wouldn’t know who they were, unless you had meet them and sealed your destiny with them in your dreams. But destiny was also tricky, and if you thought someone was your soulmate and created the link in your dreams, but then it turned out that your souls were not two parts of one whole, you would have missed your only opportunity to find them. You needed to be sure that that person was the one for you.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, since Baekhyun realised that he was able to control his dreams, he had been waiting, or more exactly, expecting, to be the lucky one and find his soulmate in his dreams. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he was wondering if the tall redhead in his dreams could be was he was waiting for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Baekhyun, are you here?” fingers snapping before him woke him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had gotten just in time to his office, and now his friend, Oh Zitao, was trying to tell him something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sorry, I’m very sleepy today,” he smiled to the taller, not wanting to share his thoughts with him. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to show you my new car,” Zitao smiled, grabbing his arm and taking him to the window. “It’s the one parked behind the white motorcycle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks very n…” Baekhyun started, but he stopped mid-sentence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A tall man, no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> tall man with flaming hair that appeared continuously in his dreams approached the white motorcycle. He got on top of the thing and fastened his helmet. Suddenly, an urge took over Baekhyun and he opened the window, almost knocking Zitao off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!!” he shouted to the man, but it was too late.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The motorcycle was running away with the tall man on top of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Zitao asked. “Was he a friend of yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Baekhyun replied, leaving Zitao even more puzzled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had lost that opportunity. But he also knew that he could talk with the tall man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his dreams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>That night, the man didn’t appear in his dreams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was not weird, after all, he didn't appear every night in his dreams. But when he didn’t appear the next day, nor the following, nor the next one, Baekhyun started to grow both impatient and worried. After so many days of appearing on his dreams, it was weird that the man hadn’t showed up. Baekhyun was starting to be unable to think about anything else and it showed on his mood. Zitao kept on asking him questions about his well-being and if he needed to talk, he was available; but Baekhyun just shook his head everytime and assured his friend that he was fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun hadn’t told anyone about his ability or the man, and he wasn’t sure how well Zitao would take all the information about them. So he just dismissed it as that he wasn’t sleeping well -which was partly true- and tried to keep his composure while at work. Which was kind of difficult, as the days passed and the waiting became longer and longer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the seventh day, Baekhyun had had enough. His mind was a turmoil of impossible scenarios and unbelievable explanations, and he was tired of it all. That night, he was dreaming about his grandmother’s house when he thought he had to do something. He just couldn’t stay still anymore. A whole week without seeing him was weird enough, and he wanted to give his brain a break. So he stood up and left his grandmother and Zitao talking in the living room, and went for the entrance. He opened the door and had to suppress a gasp, because he wasn’t prepared for what he saw.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was an absolute nothingness in front of him, a kind of thick blackness in which tiny white specs of dust were dancing. Baekhyun extended his hand cautiously, not sure of what it was or if it will harm him, but something inside him compelled him to move forward. That, and that he was tired of waiting for the man to appear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His extended hand found nothing on his way. It was as though his body was made of light and was able to see it even when he stretched it as far as he could without leaving the threshold. The sensation was a bit strange, some kind of chilly breeze surrounded the environment, but at the same time, Baekhyun didn’t feel like it was a bad thing. He swallowed and made up his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to see him,” he said aloud, speaking to nobody in particular.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But was if someone was listening, a glistening path suddenly appeared in front of him, a narrow way made of red-ish brick tiles that flickered as the flames of a fire. After testing that it was steady and that it wasn’t going to collapse under his weight, Baekhyun started to follow the path. With every step, the flames that seemed to inhabit the bricks trembled and danced around, making him giggle at first. He also noticed that the pathway was warm, and that the cool breeze he had felt before wasn’t as chilly as he had first thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a while of just walking, something started to appear in the distance. It wasn’t something Baekhyun was able to recognise, but it seemed like there was someone there. As he was getting closer, Baekhyun started to see that it was the tall man, just sitting on a small patch of grass with his eyes closed. The path ended right next to him and there was space just for him to sit next to him, so he left the flickering path and sat next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun took a moment to admire him. With his eyes closed, he looked so at peace that he even felt a tinge of guilt when he thought about disturbing him. With his eyelashes casting pretty shadows over his cheeks, his red hair swaying softly in the wind and his full lips curved in a soft content smile, he was too handsome to be even true, and Baekhyun, for the first time, started questioning if he had made the right choice going to look for him. Because he seemed to be just fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for finding me, Baekhyun,” he said, making Baekhyun almost jump in his spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know my name?” he asked. “And why I don’t know yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Chanyeol,” he replied, smiling and finally opening his eyes to look at Baekhyun. “I was waiting for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know I was coming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said, “but I was hoping you’d come.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun looked at him puzzled, but Chanyeol just smiled and hugged him tightly, taking the other by surprise. The taller chuckled and Baekhyun felt the tingle of his chest against his own one, and it filled him with something warmth which made him reciprocate the hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you came?” Baekhyun whispered. “I wanted to talk to you. I saw you when I was awake, but you left before I could make you notice me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saw me?” Chanyeol broke the hug to look at him, and Baekhyun simply nodded. “That explains a lot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does?” Baekhyun blinked, which made Chanyeol giggle and, taking Baekhyun completely by surprise, lift a hand to caress his cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at your left hand, Baekhyun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun looked down and discovered a thin red thread that he hadn’t noticed before tied to his pinky that went down to the floor, lay for some centimetres on the grass, and went up to tie itself again on Chanyeol’s own pinky. He gasped again and looked at Chanyeol, who was smiling proudly. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Was it what he was waiting for? For real?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” he said. “When did you see me in the real world?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A week ago,” Baekhyun replied. “I saw you from my office, you exited the building next to mine and I wanted to talk to you, so I shouted at you, but you left. So I waited for you to appear in my dreams this week, and you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been locked here for a week in my dreams, and in my bedroom in the real world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why? I can move just fine here,” Baekhyun said, and then got up and went back to the path, showing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol smiled softly and got up as well, but when he tried to follow him, something invisible blocked him. Baekhyun could see and </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> it, which made him blink several times in disbelief. He cautiously went back to the patch of grass,  but nothing blocked his steps as he was waiting to happen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why can I get here if you can’t go out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because he doesn’t have access to your body in the real world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He,” Baekhyun repeated softly, trying to understand. “Who is he?” Chanyeol smiled again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know why you can’t control me in your dreams? Do you know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> I started appearing in your dreams?” Baekhyun shook his head, timidly. “Why did you want to come search for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun felt the blood going up to his cheeks, blushing. But he knew the reason, he had known it for a while, he just was too afraid for it to not be true to admit it out loud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because we are soulmates,” he replied without hesitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol smiled so wide that Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat. He took the shorter one’s face in his hands and caressed the soft cheeks with his thumbs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct,” he whispered just before closing in on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment their lips touched, it was as a billion of fireworks exploded inside him. He felt the bond that was only visible on the dream realm, attached to their pinkies, forming inside him as an invisible bond that would take him to where Chanyeol was, no matter what. Their souls were merging into one, as they were made to fit each other’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the kiss broke, Baekhyun felt the loss instantly, and he opened his eyes to looks at Chanyeol’s own dark ones, looking for the connection that was just created. And there it was, shining beautifully in those pretty black eyes in front of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so happy you found me,” Chanyeol smiled, and Baekhyun could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> his happiness tingling through his own body. “I thought I would never see you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why are you locked? Who did it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My stepbrother,” Chanyeol replied, and licked his lips cautiously before adding. “It was his revenge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun looked puzzled at him, and Chanyeol sighed and explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His father had married a woman, his mother, and had him. It was a normal relationship, they were a normal family. But one day, his father met someone else, someone who was his soulmate, and got divorced so he could spend the rest of his life with that person. His new partner also had a son named Yifan, who was a couple of years older than Chanyeol. This happened when Chanyeol himself was no more than ten years old, and he soon discovered that Yifan and himself were not meant to get along together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite this, him and his stepbrother were raised together believing in soulmates. As their parents did, they also wanted to find their own. That was when Chanyeol discovered that he could travel through other people’s dreams. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At first, it started with his family. They would say they dreamt about him, explaining the same situation Chanyeol had witnessed in his dream when he dreamt about visiting someone else’s dream. So he learnt that he could visit people’s dreams, and started to draw a map in his head of how he could travel from one dream to another.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started with his friends. Then his friend’s friends. After a while, he found shortcuts to travel to a random person’s dream without having to connect to their acquaintances’ dreams first. That’s how he found Baekhyun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Once I found you, I knew it was you. Something inside me felt it, and I visited you trying to create the bond so I could find you in real life.” Baekhyun nodded timidly, but he understood. After creating he bond, he could feel his soulmate in the real world, and could just follow his instinct, knowing it would guide him to his soulmate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But how and why are you trapped?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol looked at him with embarrassment and then he looked down, his wavy red hair moving softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not proud of this,” he warned the shorter. “Some years ago, Yifan thought he had met his soulmate. It was a pretty girl he usually dreamt about, but, unlike us, he could not control his dreams in any way, so he just waited for things to slowly develop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol paused, side-eyeing him, but Baekhyun grabbed his hand softly and squeezed it a little bit, showing him his support that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I went to visit his dreams, searching for someone new to start a new chain of dreams, since I seemed to be stuck,” he kept on telling. “Then, I saw the girl and I thought I could mess up with Yifan a little, so I approached her and started flirting, just to see his face go from red to white to purple. But then…,” Chanyeol sighed sadly, “she went on and kissed me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He paused and looked at Baekhyun, but the shorter was still patiently waiting for him to finish. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yifan knew that I could control my dreams, and thought I made her kiss me. If that wasn’t bad enough, he met her in real life not long after, and when she didn’t recognise him nor did she feel him as her soulmate, he blamed it entirely on me. It didn’t matter that I told him I had not created the link, that it was just that she was dreaming and decided to kiss me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol sighed and combed his wild red hair with his free hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He knew I was looking for my soulmate and a week ago, he came into my house, locked me up and forced me to stay here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” Baekhyun looked around, as if searching for the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s preventing me to get into my REM phase,” Chanyeol explained. “I can only move around freely when I reach that phase.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun opened his mouth in disbelief. “I’ll get you out of there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will?” Chanyeol opened his eyes, surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Baekhyun looked at him with decision. “I believe you and I will go help you out,” he got up in that moment and smiled at him. “Wait for me a little longer. Will you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol smiled back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If had been intelligent enough, ugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun realised after looking up to the building in front of him that he didn’t have a plan. Not a real one, at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol had told him his address before Baekhyun woke up, so he had no problems with that. The problem was that he did not know what to do once he got there. Was he supposed to just know con the door and ask to be let in to save his soulmate? He doubt it worked that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he also just couldn’t stay idle and let Chanyeol be a prisoner inside his own body. So he squared up his shoulders and went for the building’s door. He rang a random flat, pretending to be the postman and went inside. He thought about using the stairs, but Chanyeol lived on the fourth floor and he didn’t want to risk losing his lungs trying to climb up to the fourth floor, so he retorted to the lift.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he was getting closer, he felt a tingling of anticipation rushing through his body, but also, he knew he was feeling something else. Something that was making him anxious because that was the knowledge that his soulmate was nearby. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he exited the lift, he didn’t even need to check the numbers. He knew exactly where he needed to go, and he approached the door. But he hadn’t even touched it when the door opened by itself, or more likely, by a gloomy-looking man that was standing behind it. Baekhyun felt his icy glare on top of him, as if he wanted to stab him with invisible daggers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here,” he asked in a raspy voice, trying to intimidate him. Baekhyun didn’t even flinch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m looking for Chanyeol,” he answered firmly. “Let me in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not here,” the man replied, trying to close the door. But Baekhyun, rising the integrity of his foot, got it in the way. The man looked fiercely at him, trying to make him go away, but it didn’t happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me in, Yifan,” Baekhyun repeated, using his name this time to make him know that he knew exactly who he was. “I can feel Chanyeol inside.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That seemed to affect the tall man, who opened his mouth in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You feel…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The grip he had on the door loosened, and Baekhyun took his chance to push his way inside. The same way he had known which door was the one of his apartment, he didn’t hesitate when his footsteps led him to the room at the end of the small hallway. He opened the door while Yifan screamed at him, trying to stop him, and his heart leaped inside his chest when he saw him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Chanyeol, seated against the wall. His hair was tangled and unkempt, his eyes sported heavy bags under them and, in general, his whole body seemed ready to collapse at any moment. It was the lack of sleep and maybe other things, but he had no time thinking about that. Chanyeol hear the noise, or maybe he felt Baekhyun as well, and lifted his head to look at him. He smiled widely and Baekhyun could only run to him and kneel to his side, not sure if a hug would be too intrusive, given his state.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You came,” Chanyeol whispered, lifting a hand to caress his cheek. Baekhyun smiled and was about to reply when another voice interrupted him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yifan was at the door, looking at them full of hatred and disgust. He didn’t bear any weapons, but his whole presence was a threat. Baekhyun got up and protected Chanyeol with his body, a frown on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I will get out, but he will come with me,” he said. “You can’t do this, you can’t lock him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he can crush my opportunity to find my soulmate?” his voice was full of resentment as he pointed to the man still on the floor. “He knew she was the one, and created the link just to prevent me from being happy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun looked at him, trying to understand. Was he serious?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know that’s not true,” Baekhyun said softly. “You may not be in the best of terms, and I can respect that, but you can’t treat a person this way, even more for something that is a lie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not lying,” Yifan spitted, approaching Baekhyun, and Chanyeol grabbed his leg as to make him back away, but he didn’t move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you don’t want to admit it, but you know it deep inside,” he crossed his arms. “If not, if you were convinced that Chanyeol created the link, why would you prevent him to meet his soulmate? The link can only be created once, whether it’s the correct one or not, yet Chanyeol and I connected in dreams, and I know he’s my soulmate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun could see the gears clicking and matching inside Yifan’s head. Baekhyun really felt that Yifan had accepted deep inside him that he was not meant to be with that woman and that Chanyeol was only messing around. But also, he was hurt enough that he felt resentment towards him, which led to the wish to make Chanyeol not meet his soulmate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he felt pity for him, because he had been so focused on sabotaging his stepbrother’s happiness that he had forgotten about his own one. He sighed and relaxed his stance, trying to calm the other down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You still have your chance, Yifan. You still can find your soulmate, and we can help, I know Chanyeol regrets what happened…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you help me?” Yifan scoffed, not believing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have nice friends, I can introduce you to them,” Baekhyun quickly replied. “My female friends are very pretty, and I have a chinese friend, Zitao, I’m sure you’d like him too. And even if they are not your soulmates, maybe you’ll find someone you like a lot…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun stopped blabbering when he felt movement behind him. Chanyeol stood up, put a hand on his shoulder to assure him and looked at Yifan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know I did wrong, but I have never apologised to you,” he said before bowing slightly. “I’m sorry for being a dickhead to you and make you feel bad,” he stood up again, “but you know how serious we are about our soulmates. I would never do that to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was as if Yifan just deflated. His shoulders went down, as well as his head. It was probably too much for him to assume. They waited, but since he didn’t move, Chanyeol tugged on Baekhyun’s sleeve and whispered in his ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take me out of here, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He should have not found that whisper sexy, but he did. In any case, he just took the taller’s hand and they both walked out slowly. Yifan did nothing to stop them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once outside, Baekhyun directed Chanyeol to his house, where he took a shower while Baekhyun cooked for both of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will he be okay?” Baekhyun asked himself while pouring the dinner onto the plates.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He will,” a soft and raspy voice replied next to his neck. Baekhyun turned his head to look at him and he found a sad smile. “And we will help him too. Just not today, I’m too tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun smiled at him and sent him to sit at the table while he brought the food. Chanyeol looked much more relaxed and at ease with himself after the shower, he was smiling a lot and kept looking at Baekhyun in the same way that Baekhyun believed the was looking at Chanyeol. They ate in silence, only with the soft tune of some music that Baekhyun had set. He looked happily how Chanyeol ate everything as if it was delicious, and wondered how much he had eaten in those last days. He preferred not to ask; if they were going to work towards a common goal it was best to left certain things in the past.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once food was done, he showed Chanyeol his room so he could start sleeping while he tidied up the plates. But the taller grabbed him by the waist before Baekhyun could even turn around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To clean…?” Baekhyun tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please stay with me,” he begged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun couldn’t just go, so he nodded, earning himself a big and shiny smile that made him feel that he had done something very big. They scurried together in bed, hugging each other, and feeling the arms of Chanyeol around him, feeling his heartbeat and listening to his content sigh made Baekhyun feel at home to a level he had never felt before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you comfortable?” he asked Chanyeol. The taller hummed in agreement and Baekhyun smiled, happy. “Then, good night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Chanyeol detached his arms from around Baekhyun and got his upper half up the bed, looking down at Baekhyun, who was still lying there and confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” and a tall man like him shouldn’t look </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> cute while blushing, but he was. Baekhyun licked his lips and he saw the other’s eyes following their trace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guessed you would want to sleep, and I didn’t want to bother you,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want a good night kiss,” Chanyeol insisted, and Baekhyun had to chuckle because that man was too adorable. “And also,” he added, “I want to create the bond in this realm, with you.” Baekhyun fel one of his biggest smiles forming on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll grant your wish,” he whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their lips met midway, Baekhyun rising his body and Chanyeol lowering his. If their first kiss in dreams had been magical it was nothing compared to real life. Baekhyun felt his whole body giving himself to Chanyeol on that kiss, and he also felt as if Chanyeol was giving his all to him as their lips moved against each other. Their souls were meeting at last, becoming the one that they were meant to be, and everything felt so perfect that a single tear escaped his eyelids and run down his cheek.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they broke the kiss, they looked at each other’s eyes and saw that he was not the only one that had cried. Chanyeol was smiling but there was a thin, wet line crossing his cheek.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I knew it was you,” Chanyeol whispered, lowering himself back again to the bed and hugging him. “Thank you for coming for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun replied, “thank you for finding me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol smiled and Baekhyun kissed him lightly again, before whispering a soft good night. He went to sleep feeling secure and at home, but also knowing that, even if they were sleeping, Chanyeol and himself could always meet each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In their dreams.</span>
</p>
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